Thanks for the help

August 14, 2008

Dear Sir,

I dashed into the Paget Pharmacy ATM last Friday to get coins to buy a hot dog — I do not know what my mistake was but a lovely young woman came running after me clutching $1,000.

I do not know her but would like to give her something nice and of interest to her. My e-mail is gfoster(at)ibl.bm.

ELIZABETH GALLOWAY

It's not life and death

August 19, 2008

Dear Sir,

I recently noticed the addition to your fine publication of a special box specifically for people's complaints regarding the BBC's poor coverage of the Olympics on this Island.

It is the Olympics – they do not come around frequently, they are spectacular and yes, history is made within the sporting world. So it is perfectly understandable that the people of this Island are not exactly pleased about the poor coverage on some events and the entire lack thereof with others. But if the same people would just allow me to play the role of the Devil's advocate just for a minute, perhaps they could put things into perspective.

Quite simply, what you are "angered" and "saddened" about is television. Michael Phelps has won eight golds in one Olympics, Usain Bolt put on a joyous show in his stunning 100 metres victory, but nobody, I would suggest, has died as a consequence.

After watching the Olympics, after all those things have happened, are the errands you did not run today not still outstanding? Is President Musharraf no longer being impeached in Pakistan? Has the world, as they say, stopped turning? In the modern First World (and especially in modern Bermuda), where most of us are spoilt with what is, let's accept it, gross decadence, millions upon millions of people die from an appalling array of causes, and this is our cause célèbre?

Even thinking on a smaller and less dire scale, how has your life really been affected by the Olympics? I watched Usain Bolt win his 100 metres, live, but I did not expect to gain the ability of unaided flight thereafter, or some other wonderful thing. Those of you who did not see it likely did not wake up the next morning to find that your house had fallen down around you.

I am not one to judge anyone else's emotion. If you feel that strongly about the Olympics, then you cannot help that and more importantly, no one has the right to tell you you should not feel that way.

But the next time the Olympics is on, and you cannot see it, try having a conversation with your children, enjoying a drink with a friend, or do something, anything you enjoy. You might just realise that you came off better without the Games.

JOHN GIBBONS

Devonshire

Wrong priorities

August 11, 2008

Dear Sir,

The murder of Kellon Hill marks yet another tragic moment in Bermuda's history. As our Island's youth literally kill themselves, we are losing our Island's most important resource: the future. But we can only blame ourselves.

We begrudge our Police a pay rise, yet we spend millions of dollars on golf courses. We can't properly educate our children, yet we spend millions of dollars on a music festival. We can't make our community safe enough for people to assist the police, yet we send money to the Playboy Mansion.

Ask yourself, what would you give up to ensure that our future gets the education it needs? What would you give up so that our children could safely walk down the road at night?

When you decide, call your Government representatives and tell them to get their priorities straight. Tell them to stop chasing the glitz and start working with the Island to solve our real problems.

DOUGLAS S.J. DECOUTO, PhD

City of Hamilton

Praise for Fernance Perry

August 19, 2008

Dear Sir,

There is so much bad news concerning our young people that it was an uplifting experience to be present at the Word of Life Teen Camp Echoes at the Multi-Purpose Centre of The Evangelical Church of Bermuda on Sunday evening, August 17.

This was an overview of three weeks of WOL Teen camping on Grace Island. The young people were full of life, joy, and enthusiasm, singing uplifting, positive praise songs with a contemporary beat. Some volunteered to tell of their spiritual experiences as well as of the fun times they had enjoyed. The Power Point presentation gave further evidence of the Bible teaching, as well as the imaginative, incredible games and activities. There was no evidence of racial tensions or xenophobia as these teens interacted with one another.

What an amazing gift has been given to Bermuda by the founder of The Grace Island Trust, Mr. Fernance B. Perry. This well equipped and maintained island is available for Camps such as Word of Life and other Church camps (whose Camp Echoes we have also found a blessing this summer). Our thanks are also due to the many counselors and workers from Bermuda and overseas who volunteer to serve in these camps.

All is not lost – there are many opportunities for our youth to engage in positive, life-changing activities. We all need to point those who are floundering and drifting in the direction of anti-social, violent behaviour to Church or other youth activities where they can find good friends and positive role models.

FRANK & LINDA DESILVA

Paget

BAT is working

August 20, 2008

Dear Sir,

Editorials are an opportunity for editors of a publication to express their opinion, it is custom that such opinion be based on knowledge and assumptions are usually avoided, at least that is my understanding of the normal practice of professional editorials.

Given the above, I am somewhat taken aback by the assumptions made by the editor in his editorial of today when he seems keen to express ideas and reluctant to investigate. Perhaps this is a symptom of why we continue to have issues as a country and, specifically, why tourism continues to be misunderstood. For as long as I have been involved, and that is a long time, there have been so called "tourism experts" who are happy to sit on the sidelines, invest little if any of their time in finding and working solutions but who constantly lob bombs of derision whenever things do not appear to be going as well as they should. They become remarkably silent when things are going well.

For your information, Mr. Editor, the Bermuda Alliance for Tourism is alive and well. You may recall that BAT was formed by then Minster of Tourism, the Hon. David Allen after extensive consultation with all sectors of the community involved in tourism. It is not, deliberately, taking a public position very often, there are many who occupy the spotlight. Some time ago, we made the decision to cut our expenses to the minimum, we now have no employees and undertake our activities as the partnership we are, leaving any public comment in the hands of the partners. The danger of this strategy, as manifested by the editorial today, is that those not in the know will assume that little is being done. Luckily, those in the know are aware of the following:

1. BAT is led by its steering committee. There are two co-chairpersons, one from the private sector and one from Government. Because there has only been an "acting" Director of Tourism for some time, the Government co-chair has not been appointed, I however, as the private sector chair, have remained in close contract with the PS of Tourism and Transport ensuring that our work is carefully coordinated and understood by the shareholders. (Bermuda Government, Bermuda Hotel Association, Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, Bermuda International Business Association)

2. There are two major committees of BAT, they are the airline committee and the marketing committee.

a. The work of the airline committee has been ongoing for several years. It is the working committee of the Minister's Airline Strategy Committee and works between the airlines and the hotels with both the Chamber and BIBA participating with the objectives of filling both seats and beds, maintaining as competitive a fare structure to Bermuda as possible and in ensuring that we have the needed variety of gateways servicing Bermuda and flights incoming from those gateways. The results speak for themselves as these objectives have been largely achieved consistently for the past several years. All contacts with the airlines are originated by the Airport general manager as the prime liaison with airlines and he is co-chair of this committee. You may be aware of several recent programmes in concert with the airlines of which the "Companion Fly Free" promotion has been the most obvious and most successful. Members of this committee have been privileged to be included in the Minister's team as he has visited various airlines. We are currently in discussions with the carriers servicing Bermuda, mainly from Boston and New York, regarding ideas for the coming winter. The airline committee also acts as a conduit between the sales and marketing committee and the airlines. Finally, we continually survey the local community asking what gateways and/or flights they would like to see changed or added. Representation on this committee included the Bermuda Hotel Association, the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, the Bermuda International Business Association and the Bermuda Government.

b. The sales and marketing committee, currently chaired by Jonathan Crellin, general manager of Fairmont Hamilton, is and has always been an extraordinarily active committee. On average it meets twice per month. Its members come from the hotels, the Chamber of Commerce and Government as well as the agencies advising Government on tourism. It, in turn, has sub committees that handle; European marketing, groups and other niches. For example, there is currently a subcommittee organising the about to happen North American Tourism Summit. This committee was the one that had Bermuda coming out first, ahead of all its competition, in the North American market immediately following 9/11 with a promotion designed to encourage Americans to fly again, it has organised a succession of focused campaigns designed to respond to the ups and downs of reservation patters. It monitors, closely, the pace of reservations for the coming six months and responds as required. It has successfully coordinated joint efforts, every year and often several times a year, as will once again be manifested in the Bermuda Passport promotion shortly to be launched which will give added value to incoming visitors. It will coordinate the results of the our current airline discussions, designed to ensure that airfare is not an issue and that value is a thrust of Bermuda during the winter months. You may have seen the current $99 airfare promotion out of Boston, this was devised and coordinated by BAT and designed to boost load on the Boston flights as well as fill beds here in Bermuda. It is fare to say that any join campaign that is marketing by Bermuda involving the hotel community, the chamber and BDOT has almost always originated in the BAT sales and marketing committee. Work is underway now to focus on Bermuda's 400 Birthday in 2009.

Our role is not to garner publicity for ourselves, we are merely the partnership of all those involved. Indeed, because we have very little direct expenses, we do not have to be lobbying for funds and thus any need for a public profile is minimised. However, being quiet should not be interpreted as being inactive. I think you will find all of the partners will attest to the strength of BAT and how it continues to fill an essential role of bringing the partners together, indeed, in fulfilling the vision of the late David Allen.

MICHAEL J. WINFIELD JP FIH

Co-chairman of BAT

Equal justice

August 20, 20008

Dear Sir,

I wonder out loud where this island would be if our legal system was based on justice, the law and the facts.

I wonder where we would be if institutions with deep pockets were not allowed to keep and maintain multiple law firms on retainer for indefinite periods of time. I wonder where we would be as a listed people if the right to correct an injustice was not influenced by race and restrained by the legal system or "how things are done".

I wonder where we'll be if justice was served and not compromised. I wonder, at what stage does one's individual morality and ethics is ignored ... for their client, their firm, their job, their salary and their reputation?

So being listed isn't bad, but being listed and black is simply being blacklisted.

SAM

Warwick

Evidence of waste

August 9, 2008

Dear Sir,

In the August 8 issue of The Royal Gazette (RG for ease of reference) there was a letter from the "LaVerne Furbert Bermuda Sentinel" (LFBS for ease of reference). In this latest edition the editor of LFBS, Ms LaVerne Furbert, challenged Pat Ferguson to provide evidence of the financial malfeasance of government ministers and the PLP.

I offer this simple math calculation to the LFBS as evidence. Until very recently the normal inflation rate quoted by the Minister of Finance has been approximately three percent annually. takin the last annual UBP budget figure which was $500 in 1998, three percent compounded annually for ten years bring you to an annual figure of $672 million. The 2008/2009 annual PLP budget has been stated at $1.2 bn by the Minister of Finance. Taking the last annual UBP budget figure which was $500 million in 1998, nine percent compounded annually for ten years brings you to an annual figure of $1.2 billion. Conclusion; the PLP has been inflating the cost of living in Bermuda by nine percent per annum.

Now, if that is not enough proof, let us look at the differential of three percent per annum and nine percent per annum as it relates to actual dollars spent in those ten years. $500 million compounded at three percent per annum would give us a total spending over ten years of $5.9 bn. On the other hand, $500m compounded at nine percent per annum would give us a total spending over ten years of $8.3 billion. Conclusion: the PLP has spent $2.4 billion of public money in excess of the normal 3 percent inflation over the last ten years. Maybe the intrepid editor of the LFBS could explain where $2.4 billion has been squandered, by the PLP and its ministers.

I trust that LFBS editor LaVerne Furbert will heed her use of the old adage "it is better to be quiet and thought of as a fool, then to speak (write) and prove to be one". I must admit I did not need any more proof.

PHIL CRACKNELL

St. George's

You must be joking

August 8, 2008

Dear Sir,

The Commissioner of Police insults our intelligence when he alleges that there was no political motivation when the Auditor General was arrested!

He should be reminded that it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and confirm it!

SICK OF CHICANERY

Paget